


Case #20222; Eliza Bartle

by LePetitMonstre



Category: Creepypasta - Fandom, Slender Man Mythos
Genre: Gen, Mild Horror, Schizophrenia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-09
Updated: 2014-02-09
Packaged: 2018-01-11 19:06:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1176761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LePetitMonstre/pseuds/LePetitMonstre
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They came for the suffering; the Innocent Ones at the edge of night.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Case #20222; Eliza Bartle

**Author's Note:**

> Written for my Creative Writing class, based on the theory of Slender-men being guardian angels & my own world building head-canons.  
> This is my first time posting a story on AO3, so hopefully the formatting came out proper. Constructive criticism for the formatting or my writing (for both grammar and content) is welcome.

Little black eyes dotted the creature’s head that slithered on the floor towards the little girl and her mother. Screaming in fright, Eliza buried her face in her mother's shirt. The mother held her child closer, eyes settling on the girl's father who stood in the doorway of the bed room. A dripping mouth appeared from amidst the creature's messy face and the child squealed once more and clung all the more tightly. Mother's arms were already bruised in small patterns that matched her child's fingers.

A steaming hiss came from the beast as its claws reached the end of the bed. By now Eliza had closed her eyes and was screaming consistently. Calling for help and begging her mother to flee. "Please, Momma! Get away! Get me away!"

Mother only grimaced at her child's shrill tone and echoed in her ears. Whispering words of consolation and wiping Eliza's tear stained face with a wet cloth.

"It's alright, baby. Whatever you're seeing, it's not real." Her words made little progress and the beast jumped onto the bed and made to grab for Eliza's leg- but it seemed to disappear upon the turn side of a blink just as its ragged and blood stained claws were to grip her leg.

~*~ O ~*~

"This is the fourth medication she's been placed on. And just like last three, they've all worn off within the month." Mother's arms were over her chest as she spoke to the therapist.

Eliza sat patiently, and, for the moment, contentedly. There had been no hallucinations yet this day, but it was barely noon and the previous night's events hung heavily in the atmosphere. Multitudes of colored pencils were strewn across the low table and the child scribbled intently upon a piece of paper that had been provided for her. The images she drew were of monsters beyond the conscious imagination of adults that she was happy to get out on paper for them to witness and understand.

"Mrs. Bartle, are you sure you are giving her the recommended dose? It's unprecedented for a patient to build up a resistance to any medication this quickly; much less four. Have you given the drugs enough time to build up in her system?"

"The effects were instantaneous. For the first week Eliza's hallucinations were completely gone. Then it wasn't the next Tuesday before she was talking about... about kittens hunting mice under her bed!"

Eliza interrupted without removing attentions from her artwork. "They were rats, Mamma. I told you that."

"Of course, baby. And then last night happens! Whatever she imagined, I've never seen any child, much less my own, in such a state of fear." Mother was growing more and more angry by the second. Only the presence and occasional interjection of her child keeping her temper in check. "There's just no excuse for this."

"Ma'am, I think, considering your daughters situation, you're going to have to start coming to terms with the idea that there may be no medicine that can help her. All we can do now is keep up with our scheduled meetings and..." The therapist trailed off and would not pick up the sentence again.

"Yes?"

"Maybe you should start considering a... 'home' for her."

"Are you telling me my daughter might need to be institutionalized!?" Finally Mother snapped and stood from her chair in outrage.

"If we're to consider her rate of decline on the medicines to be indicative of her decline off them as well... It might be the best option for both you and your daughter. Especially as she grows older."

Mother and Eliza were on their way home 5 minutes later.

~*~ O ~*~

Two nights later, there was a cloudy sky and the neither the stars or the moon were to be seen. Eerie in it's silence, no crickets chirped. Such was the night when It came from the forest.

Lanky and lean and as tall as the trees themselves. The not-quite-beast was a discomforting sight to behold. Tentacles moved fluidly like arms and legs as it walked down the back lawn. Seven extra pairs of appendages hung or suspended themselves from either side of it's spine, from the upper shoulder blades came some long and nearly as thick as it's arms and from it's lumbar region a small eighth pair like little nubs. 728 years old to the day, the beast was as ancient as the castles in Germany, though its ancestors here called it ‘Wendigo’, not Das Ritter. Its species ranged across the globe and lived by many names. Where children grew, they came. (The ill-begotten hounds only ever a month behind.)

~*~ O ~*~

Eliza awoke at three in the morning to find no face staring into her window. Of all her imaginings, this creature amongst them came to her in peace. He alone was harmless, and she let him in. So tall he hunched his back and bowed his head to become shorter than the ceiling. For all her inquiries he said nothing. “Where's your face?”, “Why are you wearing a suit?”, “Are you going to work?”, “Would you like to play with me?” No spoken reply came. The calm purpose in his featureless face was of universal understanding to Eliza when she no longer felt the need to babble as little children do.

The nightmares still came and darker figures loomed in the corners of the room, but they stood at bay. The child's hallucinations would not approach the tall, faceless man. The ones the adults told her were not real but were frightening anyway. Between them and her he stood silent, and no false beast came forward.

For the remaining hours of the early morning, Eliza lingered in a dreamless sleep.

~*~ O ~*~

The following day, Mother found Eliza amicable upon waking for once in many nights. She considered it a blessing and thought better than to look a gift horse in the mouth.

~*~ O ~*~

For a full week; Eliza slept well and talked nothing of monsters under her bed or in the corners of her ceiling. Mother felt God's hand on her child and considered it a miracle. The psychiatrist scheduled a meeting in response to the sudden, un-medicated recovery.

~*~ O ~*~

As was to be expected on a psychiatric visit, Eliza was provided crayons and other drawing implements to express herself with. While the little girl occupied herself with drawing her new companion for display to the adults, Mother and the psychiatrist discussed the recent developments.

“So, according to what you told our receptionist, Eliza’s hallucinations have disappeared completely and is now sleeping comfortably through the night?” “That’s correct. It’s been a month now, and she hasn’t come to me with even a minor nightmare.”

“Did we give you any new medications last time?”

“If I remember correctly, you reported that there was no hope for her, we should give up on the medication, and to consider putting her into a home.” The annoyance and general disdain Mother held for these people was now over-shadowed by a new found smugness.

“Have you been giving Eliza any additional medications without our authorization? Even something as small as a dose of melatonin before bed to help her sleep.”

"Nothing."

"Now, Eliza has not referenced her hallucinations at all? She never mentioned that they exist but are not feared or that they are no longer threatening."

"She just doesn't talk about them any more..."

While Mother was speaking, the therapist glanced down to observe the progress of Eliza's illustrations. The child had not picked up any of instruments besides the black crayon and was scribbling away with intent. Following the therapist’s line of sight, Mother observed her child's works as well. The corners were filled in with darkness and at the center a humanoid shape. Instead of giving him facial features, Eliza drew a large 'X' over the circle that was the head. Both adults had gone silent for a long few moments when Mother removed herself from the chair and brought herself down to her child's level.

"Honey, who is that?"

"The tall man. He keeps me safe from the monsters."


End file.
